Samael
Samael '(Hebrew: 'סַמָּאֵל‬, "Venom of God" or "Blind god"/'God of the Blind'") is a figure in Laurencian religion who is considered to be the embodiment of evil. Samael is often called Satan, a Hebrew word meaning "adversary". Samael is believed to be an evil angel or angelic being who deceived several heavenly beings into following him and will one day fully rebel from Yahweh and be destroyed in the Lake of Fire. He is called a seducer and murderer and he is blamed for all the evil in the world, as he is considered to be the absolute leader of the demons and is called the "god of the Blind" in Laurencia. Duties Samael is an accuser of mortals. He is essentially the god of the demons and is said to have a hierarchy similar to that of the heavenly one. All evil and sin in the world is a result of Samael and his legions of evil spirits. Samael's place in God's hierarchy is not entirely clear other than he was once an anointed cherub and is now the accuser and seducer. On one occasion, the prophet Zechariah saw the Angel of the LORD deciding the fate of Joshua the high-priest and Samael was standing to the Angel's right side accusing Joshua. Relation to other demonic entities * Ashmedai/'Asmodeus' - Asmodeus is believed by Laurencians to be the son of the devil and will be manifest in the flesh as the False Prophet of Revelation. * Azazel - Azazel is fallen Watcher who taught ancient humans how to create weapons of war and anoint themselves as royalty. It is assumed that Azazel is the Destroying Angel of the Abyss. * Semyaza - Azazel's close associate. * Beezlebub/'Beelzebul '- It is believed that Beezlebub and Samael are the same entity or are close. * Jibreel/'Allah '- It is believed that Samael was Jibreel/Allah or one of his demons was. Four Falls in Laurencian Christianity In Laurencian theology Samael has four falls from glory. # Samael's first fall is reported in the Genesis creation narrative where he is represented by Moses as a crafty serpent: "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15) # Samael's second fall is reported in the prophet Ezekiel's book in chapter 28. Ezekiel writes, "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I cast thee to the ground, I placed thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou profaned your sanctuaries by the magnitude of your iniquities in your dishonest trade. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of everyone." (Ezekiel 28:14-18) The second fall is believed to be when Samael became a spirit. He was cast down from Heaven by God and was burnt to a crisp by divine fire, destroying his glorious body. Jesus refers to this when he is reported as saying, "I beheld Satan like lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18) # Samael's third fall occurs in the Apocalypse of John (Book of Revelation), "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." (Apocalypse of John 20:1-3) This fall and the fourth fall are events that have yet to pass. # The final fall: "They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the Beast and the False Prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Apocalypse of John 20:9-10) Category:Religion Category:Mythology